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Mar 18, 2013

The "Tattooed" Denim Jacket

I may not have the urge to tattoo my body, but I did get the urge to tattoo a jacket! I love the intricate design of some of the henna tattoos and thought they would would look great as embellishments on a denim jacket. I started with this white denim jacket that I picked up at a thrift store for a few dollars. Originally, it had eyelet lace trim around the collar, pockets, and cuffs. I didn't care much for it, so I cut it away!

I then spent some time...quite a bit of time...drawing designs on the jacket with an ultra fine point sharpie marker.

After I was satisfied with the designs, I used Elmer's washable clear glue and filled in some of the design elements. I filled an empty paint tube with glue so that I could have a smaller opening and more control over the gluing process. I let the glue dry thoroughly. The dried glue works almost like magic in the next step, which is dyeing the jacket.

I used Rit Denim Blue liquid dye. I was going for an ombre look, so I started at the bottom of the jacket and worked my way up to get the desired ombre effect. As you can see in the picture below, I made a makeshift rack to hang my jacket from. Every 5 minutes I lowered the jacket to the next level, into the dye. When I got to the level of the inked design, I placed the whole jacket in the dye for a couple of minutes, then placed it in the sink to rinse.

The dried glue resists most of the dye, leaving the treated areas lighter. The glue is washable and disappears in the wash.

Whenever you dye something, you never know exactly how it will turn out. With this project, the thread remained white. I really like the effect, though, since it ties in so nicely with the white in the inked designs!

This technique was a bit time consuming, but I'm really happy with the results.

A few tips:

•Make sure you use Elmer's washable clear glue and let it dry completely.

•I didn't get my jacket wet before dyeing (which is usually recommended for a more consistent result), I didn't want to risk washing away the dried glue and, therefore, ruining the effect.

"The thread stayed white because it was probably polyester or a polycotton blend instead of 100% cotton. I am a professional hand dyer and have found out about this. If you use Elmer's blue School Gel you can get finer lines as it holds it's shape better than the Clear Gel which tends to spread more. I use the Blue Gel for a particular technique and we tried the clear gel to compare and discovered its spreading tendencies."

I was aware of the reason why the thread didn't take the dye, but the advantage of the blue glue was news to me!!

Your new jacket is AMAZING, Susan!!! I LOVE it!!! You must be so patient to draw that intricate design. I'm not sure if we can get Elmer glue over here. Is there anything special about the glue, other than that it's washable?

I did a sample on a scrap of white denim first to see how it would work. I heat set the sharpie with a hot iron before applying the glue and dye. But, with the jacket, I skipped the heat setting (I guess I forgot in the excitement of getting it finished!) and it seemed to come out fine. It didn't hurt anything to heat set it, so I guess its your call!

The thread stayed white because it was probably polyester or a polycotton blend instead of 100% cotton. I am a professional hand dyer and have found out about this.If you use Elmer's blue School Gel you can get finer lines as it holds it's shape better than the Clear Gel which tends to spread more. I use the Blue Gel for a particular technique and we tried the clear gel to compare and discovered its spreading tendencies. This was a very interesting project.

I am totally blown away by this! The detail in your design is so amazing! What a wonderful artist you are! I'm so glad I saw this today on Threading My Way! :) I've done some glue resist technique, but just used the white glue. Blue School Glue I guess is something different? Blue...I presume? I'll have to look into that!Gina @ Gina's craft Corner

I found you by a lucky accident, searching google for decorated jackets. What a find! I will be following you for sure. thank you for sharing your beautiful jacket and the description of how you did it. Very generous of you.

I typed a message, tried to submit it, and was told I needed to subscribe, That seemed okay, as the content looks interesting. So, I subscribed, but when I came back to submit the message, it was not here. That, I did find irritating, as it took a bit for me to word the original message the way I wanted it. Oh, well, I think I this diet is taking a toll on me as I am feeling unreasonably cranky, and I know it. I need to go eat something. But, first: The jacket is gorgeous, but your directions appear to be directed at people with some knowledge of fabric painting. I have oil painted on canvas' never worked with fabrics. I have no idea of where to use the glue. Do I use it to go over every line, inside the designs, and in between them? Did you do the entire design with no pattern? If so, are there patterns to help people not so gifted? How long does one have to wait to let the design set or dry, before applying the glue? How long after the glue dries, before it is ready to dip in the dye? I think the directions for using Rit Dye says to use very hot water. Did you use hot water...how hot, if so? If I am going to invest in the jacket and a lot of time, I want to make sure I do not get into it and mess it up, because I was not clear on part of the process. Should the finished jacket be washed in cold water during subsequent washes?